Mike Tyson has the same speed and power as a 21-year-old boxer, according to his new trainer Rafael Cordeiro.
Last week the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world posted a short clip to social media showing him working out on the mitt.
Tyson, who retired 15 years ago with a record of 50-6 (44), is planning to a fight a four-round exhibition to raise money for charity.
“What I can tell you is that if he wants to do something in the future he’ll be ready for that 100 per cent,” Cordeiro said in an interview with ESPN.
“Boxing, for sure, if he wants to come back to boxing, give him six months he could come back and fight against anyone. I’ll put my word to that, it’s not a joke.
“You guys can see on the mitts, that was the first mitts [session]. Can you imagine after three weeks? The guy is a great student.”
Despite returning to training just three weeks ago, Cordeiro says the 53-year-old Tyson has the speed, timing and power of boxers 30 years his junior.
“As soon as we started training I said, ‘my lord’. I didn’t know what to expect. He hadn’t hit mitts for I think almost 10 years, I didn’t expect to see what I saw,” said Cordeiro. “I saw a guy with the same speed, same power as guys who are 21, 22 years old.
“And I can tell, you’ll have to be a good guy to spar with Mike. If you’re not prepared you’ll get dropped, for sure.
“The power is a different level. I’ve trained a lot of heavyweights in my career. When you talk about his power… his right hook I can feel it, you can tell, it could kill somebody.
“In the beginning, for sure [I was nervous]. After the second round, I felt more okay.
“When I hold mitts I like put them close to my face with all my fighters. The first time I saw his right hook [come close to my face] I saw all my life [flash before my eyes]. My wife, my daughters, my dog, I saw everything, it was like I was gonna die… it was the fear.
“All the time I hold the mitts, any kind of combination, he pushed me outside of the mat. He put pressure, pressure, pressure. Mike Tyson’s game as everyone knows it is pressure. The same way he fights is the same way he trains.”
Cordeiro revealed that Tyson likes to work his way into the mitt work by focusing on specific punches before unleashing his lethal combinations.
“It’s a great experience, I’m a humble guy, I’ve worked with a lot of champs in my career, but this guy is a different level, his mindset is different,” said the 46-year-old Brazilian. “When I start wrapping his hands he starts changing his mind, changing his posture, he thinks backs to his old days, great power.
“He’s 53 years old but when he puts his body inside the ring he changes.
“With me [the sessions last] around one hour, an hour and a half. Before then he does conditioning with his coach. He finishes conditioning then does mitts with me.
“Sometimes it’s five rounds, sometimes six or seven. We start slowly but doing things. We work on techniques, we work the way he likes to do his things.
“He’s the guy who likes to work his jab, sees how his body reacts, work his cross, see how his body reacts, then his hook. He likes to feel comfortable before and then he knows what he has to do with his body. It’s amazing to see.”
Cordeiro hinted that there will be more Tyson training footage released soon.
“We have one more great one coming up. Another great one,” he said. “This was an old one from the beginning of our training.
“We have another one, more power, more speed, more everything. An even better one.”
